To get rid of anger, counting to 10 while breathing calmly is more effective than hitting a punching bag or going for a jog, a new study suggests.
- Physical activities like jogging or boxing fuel anger rather than reducing it, according to a new study.
- You should focus on stress-relieving activities such as meditation or yoga to defuse your anger.
- Counting to 10 or taking a break are also effective techniques.
Running, hitting a punching bag, swimming… are you banking on these “release” activities to get rid of your anger and frustration? Very bad idea according to researchers at Ohio State University. For them, calmer, stress-relieving activities like meditation, yoga or even counting to 10 are much more effective in reducing your anger and aggression.
Their results were published online March 11 in the journal Clinical Psychology Review.
Anger management: focus on breathing and meditation
“I wanted to debunk the whole theory that expressing anger is a way to deal with it”explains the first author, Sophie Kjærvik in a communicated. “We wanted to show that reducing arousal, and its physiological aspect, is really important.” To verify her hypothesis, she carried out a meta-analysis compiling 154 studies. This represents a total of 10,189 participants.
The analysis focused on activities that increase arousal such as boxing, jogging, cycling or swimming and those that reduce it. Researchers cite examples of counting to 10, mindfulness, meditation, yoga, breathing exercises.
Examination of the collected data shows that these activities, which reduced the level of arousal, were effective in repelling rage. This beneficial effect was observed whether the exercises were done alone or in a group, via digital platforms or face-to-face sessions. Some of the most beneficial include deep breathing, relaxation, mindfulness, meditation, yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing and taking a break.
“It was really interesting to see that progressive muscle relaxation and just relaxation in general could be as effective as approaches such as mindfulness and meditation,” adds Sophie Kjærvik. “And yoga, which can be more exciting than meditation and mindfulness, remains a way to calm and focus on your breathing that has the same effect in reducing anger.”
“Obviously in today’s society we all face a lot of stress and we need ways to cope with it too. Showing that the same strategies that work against stress also work against anger is beneficial.”concludes the expert.
Jogging increases anger
Conversely, the study shows that very physical activities were far from calming the nerves, and could even amplify the feeling. “Jogging was most likely to increase anger”adds the specialist. “Some physical activities that increase arousal may be good for the heart, but they are certainly not the best way to reduce anger”adds lead author Brad Bushman. “It’s definitely a battle because angry people want to express themselves, but our research shows that any good feeling we get from expressing ourselves actually reinforces aggression.”
On the other hand, scientists have noticed that physical education classes and ball sports can help reduce arousal. Which suggests that “introducing an element of play into physical activity can at least increase positive emotions or counteract negative feelings.”
The team also notes that breathing or meditation exercises that reduce anger have another advantage over physical activities: they are free or very inexpensive.
